


Captain of Her Heart

by pook



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-04 05:01:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16340279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pook/pseuds/pook
Summary: A get together story written for Elem’s birthday (2009).





	Captain of Her Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elem (elem44)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elem44/gifts).



> Special thanks for Azza for the beta.

~~~~ __  
Too long ago, too long apart  
She could not wait another day for  
The captain of her heart.

By Double.

_~~~_

With the swish of the doors closing behind her, Kathryn allowed her shoulders to slump. It was well passed midnight, and so yet another day in the Delta Quadrant had passed. No xenophobic aliens hell bent on their destruction – again. No kowtowing to yet another sleazy minister to get vital supplies. It had been just another one of the ninety-nine percent of their days where nothing happened, as opposed to the one percent that had been sheer terror. Nothing had happened but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t exhausted.

She’d spent the day doing administrative duties catching up on report after report. Starfleet had conveniently omitted the awful truth of how much paperwork was involved in just running a starship from its recruitment vids, preferring to focus on heroic deeds and exploration to lure poor suckers like her in. Her dad had also sugar coated his daily experiences, like Starfleet, preferring to talk about all the discoveries and breakthroughs he’d made. If only she paid more attention to her mother, she’d known the truth, even though she wasn’t a ‘fleeter, as a University lecturer, hers had been even more a bureaucratic bureaucracy, if such an evil thing could exist in nature or polite society, than Starfleet. On more than one occasion, Gretchen had said even the most bureaucratic of Federation species, the Dsiians, would’ve been cowering behind their mother’s sofa, crying and sobbing in fear at the procedures that she’d had to follow.

She’d read reports and had filled out more. There had been so many reports. Engineering. Security. Operations. Medical. Personnel. Sciences. Some that had to be filled out and signed off on only on a daily, weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, six monthly, or yearly basis and some that were all of the above. If they’d still used paper and not PADDs, they’d have drowned under the weight of all those reports years ago.

Back in her Ready Room, there was a stack of fifteen PADDs, full of reports that were still waiting for her, and they were a testament to the sheer amount and size of the Starfleet bureaucracy. And it didn’t matter that they were in the Delta Quadrant, they still had to be filed in. Eventually when they returned home, someone would have to read the reports and compile ever more reports. And then someone else would have to read those reports of those reports and make reports on those reports and so on. It was no wonder that there were ten admin people to every one frontline person in Starfleet.

It was a nightmare.

Although pleased with her efforts that she’d made a dent in the reports, she couldn’t have wished it away or on to anyone else – that would’ve been cruel and unusual punishment. Smirking, she wasn’t a sadist – usually.

After taking her jacket off and tossing it on the chair, she grabbed a glass of wine from the replicator and settled down in her favourite chair to relax and wind down, just watching the star trails zoom by.

~~

_*beep beep*_

Chakotay stood at a relaxed parade rest, waiting for the doors to open. While he waited, he mentally reviewed what was on is plate for the day, which were three performance reviews and a split shift on the Bridge. All the crewmen were from Sciences. He’d be reviewing their cross training in Security. Cross training was a necessity considering their finite personnel. Tuvok had been ‘pleased’ with the crew numbers’ progress, so he thought the process wouldn’t be onerous at all.

There was no answer.

If he was standing in front of anyone else’s cabin he’d have comm’ed the individual concerned and told him or her to get the lead out, as Tom would say, but as he was standing in front of his captain’s cabin, he’d just have to be patient.

After what seemed an age, Chakotay buzzed the door again. Maybe she’d been in the bathroom and hadn’t heard the first ring, he thought.

_*beep beep*_

Kathryn’s hand slipped and she woke with a jerk. Disorientated, she looked around, wondering what had happened. The last thing she remembered was putting her glass down beside, realising she must have fallen asleep in her chair. After forcing her aching body from the chair, she stretched trying to get the kinks out of her body. She was getting too old to sleep in any thing else but a very comfortable bed. And her back whole heartedly agreed.

The door chime alarm was lit. It could only be one person.

Chakotay.

Chakotay had featured prominently in Kathryn’s dreams and now she indulged herself by reminiscing for a few moments. There had been little scenes of home, of planets they’d visited and aliens they’d met, together side by side and sprinkled in between had been some more intimate moments, of caresses, of kisses and more. It had been a recurring dream that she no longer had the willpower or desire to suppress. Truth be told, she wished she’d had them more often. They were rather pleasant.

Better not keep him waiting too long, she thought; he might override the lock, thinking God only knows what had happened to her. She ordered the door open.

Chakotay stepped though into her living room and then had to stifle a smile. He’d seen in her in many states of disarray, all covered in dirt or grime from Engineering or even her blood, shuddering at the thought, but never so bedraggled; her short hair scruffy, her grey skivvy half hanging out and creased, in socks, and perhaps a little hint of drool in the corner of her mouth. Although he’d never say it out loud, she looked kind of cute. He’d read Charlie’s shift’s report, so he knew that nothing had happened overnight to warrant her appearance. “Rough night?” Chakotay quizzed, unable to hide his smile.

Yawning, Kathryn rubbed her face, ignoring his amused look.

Before coming here, Chakotay had seen the pile of completed reports on her desk in her Ready Room. It looked like she’d tried to get through all of them in a rare lull before the expected storm but there were still at least ten PADDs left. Ayala noted in the Charlie shift’s log that the captain had left her Ready Room at 0220. “Reports?”

“Yes.” Kathryn paddled over to her replicator and ordered herself an extra strong coffee. “Want one?”

“No, thank you.”

Kathryn sipped the coffee. One cup was never going to be enough to wake her up, she thought.

“I would’ve helped you.” Chakotay saw the dark circles under eyes, evidence of her tiredness. He’d have helped her; he wanted to, it was part of his job as XO to relieve her of these boring duties, hating how much even these admin tasks had affected her. Chakotay wanted her to get the rest she more than deserved. But as the captain still had to sign off on the reports, she still had to read the summaries and knowing Kathryn the summary was never going to be enough, she’d want to know everything, before putting her thumb print to any report.

“I know but I wouldn’t force that on my worst enemy. I care about you.” She saw the concern written all over his face. “Much more than you’ll ever know.”

Puzzled, Chakotay looked at her. “Kathryn?” He definitely heard what she’d said and immediately recognized what she really meant. They’d been dancing around these emotions for years, never quite crossing the line, until know. Was this exhaustion speaking? He had to be sure.

With the surprised look on his face, Kathryn’s still sleepy brain finally registered that she’d actually said it out loud and once that particular cat was out of the bag there was no going back. She realized he’d never make the first step, duty and fulfilling his role as First Officer came first, and so it was always going to be her decision. It was blindingly, obviously true. She more than cared about him, she loved him with all her heart and she’d known it for a very long time and she knew with certainty that he felt the same. There was no the point in trying to ignore, deny or suppress it anymore. Preferring the direct approach, Kathryn stepped closer to him and tentatively placed her hand on his broad chest. “Chakotay, I love you.”

With her hand lingering, the tingling sensation told him so much. Kathryn loved him. He’d known that for a long time just as he’d loved her for a long time too, but the circumstances were difficult to say the least. One day, he’d hoped those would change and they had. He wasn’t going to question it; he just accepted it and thanked the Spirits. Chakotay’s hand gently surrounded hers. “Kathryn”

Chakotay edged closer, his hands caressing her face and neck and his lips closed in on hers. The look of love in her blue eyes took his breath away. He was hers totally and realised that she was his. “I love you, Kathryn.”

The distance between them closed. They kissed and then they were one.

 _Fin_.


End file.
